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Introduction to Linux - A Hands on Guide

This guide was created as an overview of the Linux Operating System, geared toward new users as an exploration tour and getting started guide, with exercises at the end of each chapter.
For more advanced trainees it can be a desktop reference, and a collection of the base knowledge needed to proceed with system and network administration. This book contains many real life examples derived from the author's experience as a Linux system and network administrator, trainer and consultant. They hope these examples will help you to get a better understanding of the Linux system and that you feel encouraged to try out things on your own.

M'kay, this is really more about figuring out how to troubleshoot X applications than it is about needing to play a particular game ...

I try to make a habit of occasionally roaming around the menus on my [-current] system and trying apps I've never run before. Tonight it was the game "KAtomic." I was running XFCE. I tried running the game and BLAM!
X died. I saw some disturbing lines at the top of the screen, what looked like the tail end of a series of numbered lines of errors specific to X.

Then I tried changing my wm to KDE, since KAtomic -- sporting the ubiquitous 'K', was obviously a KDE app. Even worse. Under KDE, starting the game using the menus resulted in a frozen system. I couldn't even CTRL-ALT-BACKSPACE out of X ... the system was hung.

Once I was back up and running, I tried starting KAtomic from a terminal in fluxbox, and redirected standard error to a file. Here is what it contains:

Now, the thing is, not only is that not terribly specific, but I know there is other, more specific error-gunk that X is spitting out as it dies, since I can see it at the top of my screen once I am back at a prompt. I am wondering how to get all of THAT stuff. Is there another way to capture it? It doesn't seem to be in the X.org.log, nor in syslog.

I admit, I am grasping at straws, and am not sure where to look for more information.

Usually the error logs come from the verbosity of the program, I mean if there is no error checking or no error message when the program fails in one function then there is no direct error output from the program

The <<katomic: Fatal IO error: client killed>> error seems to come from QT library (the library that provides GUI elements, like menu, buttons etc), but not from the program itself

If you are curious, you could use << gdb katomic>>, then type <<run>> and look gdb output until the program stops, then you can type <<where>> to try to find out more.. But the program surelly has debug symbols stripped so it won't talk much.

I have seen X locks from various reason also, often the x video driver caused problem, but that depends on your video card and driver though.

If you are curious, you could use << gdb katomic>>, then type <<run>> and look gdb output until the program stops, then you can type <<where>> to try to find out more.. But the program surelly has debug symbols stripped so it won't talk much.

Intriguing, I get lots of

(No debugging symbols found)

and then after a couple of returns, KAtomic runs and dies and pulls X down and, of course, my gdb session with it.

I tried from pure console but since KAtomic is a KDE app it can't be debugged/run without X running.

Sure wish I could capture what X is spitting out upon death. I thought that went SOMEwhere ... but I can't find it. I will run KAtomic and try to copy down a couple of the lines with a pen[cil], maybe someone will recognize something ... there's gotta be a better way!